Putin repeats praise of Trump: He's a 'bright' person

Russian President Vladimir Putin again complimented Donald Trump on Friday, calling him a “bright” person.

Putin, who was speaking at the Russian Economic Forum in St. Petersburg, said he would work with any of the presidential candidates, but specifically lauded Trump for his comments on improving relations between Russia and the United States, according to the Associated Press.

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Putin was asked about Hillary Clinton, but did not comment directly on her, instead praising Bill Clinton for his help.

Trump has welcomed Putin's comments in the past, calling the Russian strongman's praise "a great honor" in December.

"It is always a great honor to be so nicely complimented by a man so highly respected within his own country and beyond," Trump said. "I have always felt that Russia and the United States should be able to work well with each other towards defeating terrorism and restoring world peace, not to mention trade and all of the other benefits derived from mutual respect."

During an interview with MSNBC’s “Morning Joe" on Dec. 18, 2015, Trump said he welcomed Putin's compliments: “When people call you brilliant, it’s always good, especially when the person heads up Russia.”

Asked what he thought of the high number of Russian journalists who have been murdered during Putin's tenure, Trump responded, “He’s running his country, and at least he’s a leader, you know unlike what we have in this country."

Pushed further by co-host Joe Scarborough, Trump compared Russia to the United States.

“Well I think our country does plenty of killing also, Joe,” he said. “So, you know. There’s a lot of stupidity going on in the world right now, Joe. A lot of killing going on, a lot of stupidity.”

Trump also pointed to Putin's standing in the polls as evidence of his leadership qualities.

“I’ve always felt fine about Putin. I think that he’s a strong leader,” he said. “I think he’s up in the 80s, which is you see where Obama’s in the 30s and the low 40s and he’s up in the 80s, and I don’t know who does the polls, maybe he does the polls, but I think they’re done by American companies, actually.”

Criticized for those comments by Sen. Marco Rubio, among others, Trump later said his detractors were just "jealous."